Cap'n Jazz (sometimes stylised as caP'n Jazz) was an American

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

band formed in

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in 1989 by brothers Tim and

Mike Kinsella Mike Kinsella (born March 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. Having been involved in many Illinois-based bands, he is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the emo band American Football. Kinsella's first musica ...

, who were joined by Sam Zurick and Victor Villarreal. After a number of name changes and the addition of guitarist

Davey von Bohlen Davey von Bohlen (born August 11, 1975) is an Americans, American musician and songwriter. He is best known for serving as lead vocalist and guitarist of the emo band The Promise Ring and also as guitarist and backing vocalist in short-lived cul ...

, the band began to earn a cult following in the Chicago area and the Midwest.

History

Cap'n Jazz recorded several singles for independent labels in the early 90s as well as contributing to several compilations. In 1995, the band released its only full-length album, ''

Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over ''Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over'' is Cap'n Jazz's only full-length studio album, released ...

'' on the Man with Gun label. The album is sometimes referred to as ''Shmap'n Shmazz'', which was printed on top of the CD release. The band broke up in July 1995, shortly after Shmap'n Shmazz's release, on the night of a show at

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's Das Yutes a Go-Go. In 1998, Jade Tree assembled a double-disc Cap'n Jazz retrospective titled ''

Analphabetapolothology ''Analphabetapolothology'' is an anthology album by Cap'n Jazz Cap'n Jazz (sometimes stylised as caP'n Jazz) was an American emo band formed in Chicago in 1989 by brothers Tim and Mike Kinsella, who were joined by Sam Zurick and Victor Vil ...

'' which compiles the band's complete recorded works (save for Naive, their song on ''Achtung Chicago! Zwei''): Shmap'n Shmazz, early singles, material from split releases, compilation tracks, unreleased demos and outtakes and several tracks from their farewell performance in Chicago. The band's lineup was

Tim Kinsella Tim Kinsella is an American musician, author, and film director from Chicago, Illinois. Known for his eccentric singing voice, he first rose to prominence as lead singer and lyricist of the emo band Cap'n Jazz which he co-founded with his brot ...

(vocals); Samuel Zurick (bass guitar);

(drums, vocals); Victor Villarreal (guitar, vocals); and

(guitar, vocals from 1994–95).

Post-breakup and reunion

Cap'n Jazz reunited at The Empty Bottle on Friday, January 22, 2010, as part of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

's Don't Mind Control Variety Show. After playing a short, impromptu set in Chicago, the band played its first official reunited show at the annual

Forecastle Festival The Forecastle Festival is a three-day music, art, activism festival held annually in Louisville, Kentucky. The festival was founded in 2002 as a small gathering of local musicians in Tyler Park, and steadily grew into a national attraction that ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

on July 10, 2010, and a hometown reunion show a week later at the Bottom Lounge, supporting the vinyl re-release of ''Analphabetapolothology'' on Jade Tree Records, where they gained success. Due to the show selling out in about 48 hours, a second show was added the next night. Later, it was announced that they would also be playing reunion shows across the United States during the summer and fall of 2010. Most recently, Cap'n Jazz was included in the lineup for the 2017 FYF Fest in Los Angeles' Exposition Park. This marks the band's first show since 2010. The FYF appearance was followed by shows in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and London, including an appearance at

Riot Fest Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival based in Chicago, Illinois, at Douglass Park. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest remains one of the largest independently owned m ...

2017 in Chicago. Former members of the band continue to play music, most notably in

Make Believe Make believe, also known as pretend play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior. What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and creative aspect rather t ...

The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Everywhere'' ...

American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

Owls Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...

Ghosts and Vodka Ghosts and Vodka was an American instrumental math rock band from Chicago. The band was made up of two guitarists, Victor Villareal, and Sam Zurick, bassist Erik Bocek, and drummer Scott Shellhamer. The band formed after Bocek and Zurick met V ...

and

Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

Influence and legacy

Cap'n Jazz have influenced a number of bands.

Algernon Cadwallader Algernon Cadwallader is an American emo and math rock band from Yardley, Pennsylvania. They were originally active from 2005 to 2012. In 2022, the band regrouped and began touring again. ''Stereogum'' referred to the band as the "heroes of the e ...

has been noted for their sonic similarities to Cap'n Jazz, and have likewise cited the band as a primary influence. The american

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has be ...

band

Scary Kids Scaring Kids Scary Kids Scaring Kids (abbreviated SKSK) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Gilbert, Arizona, United States, in 2002. The band's name was taken from the Cap'n Jazz song of the same name. They released two studio albums ''The City Sle ...

took their name from an homonymous Cap'n Jazz song.

Members

Past members

– lead vocals (1989–1995, 2010, 2017) *

– drums (1989–1995, 2010, 2017) *

– guitar, backing vocals (1993–1995, 2010) *

Victor Villarreal Victor Villarreal is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his role as guitarist in Cap'n Jazz, Owls and Joan of Arc. His music incorporates elements of classical, indie and emo, and contains surreal guitar solos and instrumen ...

– guitar (1989–1995, 2010, 2017) * Sam Zurick – bass guitar (1989–1995, 2010, 2017)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (Also known as ''Shmap'n Shmazz'') – LP/CD (Man With Gun Records, 1995)

Singles/EPs

* ''Sometimes if you stand further away from something, it does not seem as big. Sometimes you can stand so close to something you can not tell what you are looking at.'' – 7” (Underdog Records, 1993) * ''Boys 16 to 18 Years... Age of Action'' – (Further Beyond Records, 1993)

Anthology

* ''

'' – 2xCD (

Jade Tree Records Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware. History Origin (1987–1990) In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washing ...

, 1998), 2xLP (Jade Tree Records 2010)

Compilation appearances

* ''Achtung Chicago! Zwei!'' – compilation LP (Underdog Records, 1993) * ''Nothing Dies with Blue Skies'' – 7” split w/ Friction (Shakefork Records, 1993) * ''How the Midwest Was Won'' – compilation 2x7” (Subfusc Records, 1993) (Playing Field Recordings, 1993) * ''Picking More Daisies'' – compilation 2x7” (Further Beyond Records, 1993) * ''It’s a Punk Thing, You Wouldn't Understand'' – compilation LP (Shakefork Records, 1993) * ''Ghost Dance'' – compilation 2x7” (Slave Cut Records, 1993) * ''A Very Punk Christmas'' – compilation 2x7” (The Rocco Empire & Further Beyond Records, 1993) * ''Punk TV'' – compilation LP (Red Dawg Records, 1995) * ''We’ve Lost Beauty'' – compilation LP (File 13, 1995) * ''Ooh Do I Love You'' – compilation 2xCD (Core For Care, 1995)

References

External links

Jade Tree Records’ band page
{{Authority control American post-hardcore musical groups Emo musical groups from Illinois Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Jade Tree (record label) artists